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Add Helio Castroneves' name to the list of open-wheel stars wanting to try NASCAR.

The two-time Indy 500 winner said late Wednesday he is intrigued by the possibility of racing in America's most popular series.
 -- Tampa Tribune

So quickly have minds changed about the Car of Tomorrow program that driver Scott Riggs was asked Thursday whether competitors had unknowingly been subjected to some form of mind control. No, Riggs said, the program just might turn out to do exactly what NASCAR officials said it would do.
 -- Kansas City Star

Templates for the Car of Tomorrow have not been distributed to the teams yet. And fixing crashed cars on race day could prove problematic. Some are saying the initial inspection process could make for an interesting day at Bristol.
 -- Kansas City Star

Each NASCAR chassis is welded together by hand. That will change this year when Evernham Motorsports becomes the first Nextel Cup team to use robotics to aid in building racecars. Ray Evernham said Thursday that he would spend about $250,000 to $350,000 to purchase automated equipment that would assemble small parts and ultimately be used to weld the frame of the "Car of Tomorrow," a racecar that NASCAR will introduce this year.
 -- New York Times

Partnerships in owning teams could emerge as a major trend in NASCAR, and Ray Evernham said Thursday that may be what it will take to help people like him survive at the sport's top level.
 -- Charlotte Observer

Roger Penske said he planned to build a racetrack on about 70 acres next to his race shop in Mooresville, N.C. The track will be three-quarters of a mile, complete with soft walls and facilities to operate a racing school. The price could run as high as $10 million, according to Don Miller, Penske Racing's president. Penske said it cost more than $1 million a year to travel to racetracks and use other facilities for testing. He also said he believed that other teams would rent the track for their own practice.
 -- New York Times

Carl Edwards is getting involved in the music business. The driver of Roush Racing's No. 99 Ford started his own label during the offseason. Back 40 Records will try to find talent in the mid-Missouri area. Edwards said he got the idea while hanging out with friends.
 -- Tampa Tribune

Jeff Gordon, whose team will start from the outside of the front row, cleared his schedule a year ago to be able to participate in the Rolex 24. He'll be joined by reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, two-time Cup title-winner Tony Stewart and 2000 champ Bobby Labonte.
 -- Tampa Tribune

Atlanta Motor Speedway has signed Kobalt Tools to a one-race contract as title sponsor of the March 18 Nextel Cup event at the 1.54-mile oval. In the process, the Hampton track may have inadvertently stoked the marketing rivalry between two of the nation's largest home improvement warehouses: Lowe's and Atlanta-based Home Depot.
 -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Bruton Smith, chairman and chief executive of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., and one of the major track owners in NASCAR, is pushing racing officials to move the annual awards ceremonies to Las Vegas.
 -- New York Times

Joe Gibbs Racing has picked up three new sponsors. One is Nike, which, through its Starter brand, will use JGR to help develop and market footwear and apparel for race teams and fans.
 -- Tampa Tribune

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